Friday, April 22, 2016

When Corrie ten Boom heard the knocking at the door she checked to make sure that the family was ready for her to open it. This was a habit--and a good one--because they never knew who might be standing outside their door in Haarlem, Holland, in the year 1942. The Nazis and their brutal gestapo were always keen on surprise searches and raids. So, a family like Corrie's knew that they should tie down any loose ends--or visible refugees--before they opened the door. The challenge was, of course, making sure that there wasn't much hesitation in answering the door, however, because the Nazis were always looking for an excuse to rationalize their violating searches. Casting glances around her--while her family did the same--she decided that they were ready for whoever might be on the other side of the door. As the door swung open and obscured her view she readied herself to be courageous and to stand by her faith regardless of who waited for her on the threshold. As her expectation turned to vision, she was glad to see a finely dressed woman in traveling clothes with a briefcase. She didn't need the woman to tell her what she was there for but she knew it was important to the woman to say. The woman told Corrie that she was a Jew--quietly so that any nearby informants might not have cause to run to the Nazis--and that her husband had been arrested by the Nazis. After finding a hiding place for their son she had left the watchful eye of her city's predators and arrived at the house of Corrie and her family seeking refuge and a sanctuary. Corrie led her inside without a moment's hesitation.

Corrie and her family were committed to offering a haven of protection for those that the State despised and abused. They had given refuge to Jews and members of the Dutch resistance for over two years by the point that the young woman arrived on their doorstep. They had a special place in their home--a small room accessed in Corrie's closet--where those that the Nazis pursued could hide when they inevitably came looking. Otherwise, they were the honored guests of Corrie and her family. They observed the Sabbath with their guests and kept their kitchen kosher so that they might not present any problem to those the world called refugees and they called brothers and sisters. Their Christian convictions led them to understand the Jews as their kin and family--the chosen people of God to whom they had been joined by their faith. However, as this heroic work continued they were presented with a challenge. The members of Corrie's family each had a ration card but none of the Jews were ever given ration cards. This meant that they had a limited amount of food for an increasing number of people. They shared what they had but it wasn't enough.

Corrie, who was known to say not only "Let God's promises shine on your problems" but, also,"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God"went at night to a man who was a government employee and was connected to the ration cards. Corrie had once cared for this man's mentally handicapped daughter and had even run a special Church service for the girl and others like her. She had shown love and kindness to another of those whom the world avoids and fears and in doing had shown God to the girl and her mother and father. She knocked on his door and began to tell her story but eventually he cut her off because he knew what she must be preparing to ask him for. He asked her how many cards she needed. She had been planning on asking for five because that would have made the situation at home much easier. But, then when she went to say how many she needed she realized that she had an opportunity to expand her family's ability to protect those they loved.She asked for one hundred and received the man's help with some hesitation.

Eventually, their goodness became public knowledge and shortly thereafter a Dutch informant sold them out to the Nazis. The Nazis raided the house and took the family captive along with all their beloved guests. Corrie and her family were sent to Scheveningen prison for their efforts and her already ailing father died only ten days into his captivity. Corrie's nephew, brother, and younger sister were all released after some time in prison but Corrie and her older sister were transferred first to Vught concentration camp and finally to Ravensbruck. Corrie's older sister died at Ravensbruck but, perhaps sensing Corrie's growing desperation, she told her: "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still." Inspired by her sister's faith, she continued offering comfort and solace to those she was captive with until she was released--because of a clerical error--on Christmas Day in the year 1944. They had not meant to release her but they did and so she was spared the death that was scheduled for her in a week's time.

Perhaps the most shocking moment, though, came two years later when she was in Germany and brought face to face with one of the guards from Ravensbruck. She was immediately furious with him but this would not last. Instead, she reminded herself of her call to love and forgive even her enemies and that "Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart." She forgave the man and held his hands and prayed for him. She would look back at this event for the remainder of her career as a speaker and storyteller as the one moment when she most felt the love of God surging through her. In that moment, she had slipped the bonds of broken sinfulness and attained to the great calling that Jesus had placed upon her life: to redeem a broken and sinful world by laying down herself and loving others.

Life Unhindered

The downloadable workbook for Jennifer Kennedy Dean's book, Life Unhindered!: Five Keys to Walking in Freedom, includes twelve of my stories. The book itself is available at Amazon. The workbook is available here. Why not go buy a copy right now to show your support for both of us?

Contact

The stories on this site are the original creations of Joshua Hearne. If you are interested in using any of these stories for any purpose please contact me at joshua@ttstm.com. The pictures are not original to this site-- if you click on them you will be taken to where they were found.